Gamertell

 

Product: Nyko’s Charge Station: Charging Dock and 2 Rechargeable Batters for the Wii Remote
    Price: $29.99
    Rating: 9.5 out of 10
    Pros: Easy to use, holds a long charge and adds extra grip texture to the WiiMote.
    Cons: Makes old battery cover useless.
    Overall: A great rechargeable - and storage - solution for your WiiMotes. Buy this without a second thought.

My WiiMotes suck batteries dry like a pair of friggin’ starved vampires. Part of the problem is that the motion sensors in the controllers are actually buttons, so when you pick up or even jostle the WiiMotes, the batteries lose a little more charge. Each time I see the little blue lights flicker on the shelf I know that’s a few seconds less of prime gaming time.

Although I switched over to rechargeable AA batteries a while ago to help save costs, the battery life just doesn’t seem to last very long, even after I moved the WiiMotes to another part of the room.

Nyko’s Charge Station solves both of those problems, one directly and the other quite indirectly (at least for my house).

First, the charger does its job pretty dern well by, well, keeping the WiiMotes charged for a long time. Second, since the base has to be near a plug which are typically near solid surfaces and away from the TV (face it, all those plugs are stuffed with game systems and entertainment components), my Wiimotes are no longer just sitting on the TV, coffee table of book shelf, where walking by and slight nudges trip the many internal motion sensors.

Nyko’s WiiMote Charge Station is not just a great product, I wish I now had two so I could keep all 4 continually charged.

Now I just have to decide what to do with my old WiiMote battery covers. How about earrings? Maybe Christmas tree ornaments?

Design – The Nyko WiiMote Charge Station ships with a single docking base that holds two WiiMotes, 2 rechargeable battery packs, two rubberized grip battery covers and a small, fold out instruction manual. All of the elements are white except for the grey/silver rubber grips on the battery covers, a grey base and grey Nyko logo on the front of the charger unit. The bottom is also covered in rubber to help keep it from sliding. The electrical cable from the base measures 6 feet (72 in.) and has a two-prong plug.

The base weighs 7 oz (200 g) and measures about 4 5/8 in wide, 2 5/8 in. at its deepest and 3 3/8 in. at its tallest point. The battery covers, which each weigh only 0.4 oz (10 g, the original cover weighs 0.2 oz or 10 g), are the exact same shape as the original covers. Each cover has three gold pieces of metal that meet up with three metal prongs on the base unit.

Each rechargeable NiMH battery weighs 1.8 oz (55 g, two regular batteries weigh 1.6 oz or 45 g). Each rechargeable battery appears to actually be two rechargeable AA batteries in light blue wrappers houses a special Nyko plastic case that is specially contoured for the WiiMote’s interior.

Features – The base includes two LED lights, one for each charge port, that signify when the WiiMote is being charged or is fully charged. The LEDs light blue when the WiiMote is charging, green when fully charged and is off when nothing is being charged. Two WiiMotes can be charged at the same time.

Performance – A single charge lasts about 25 hours, as reported, which seems longer than two standard, non-rechargeable AA batteries. Charging is relatively fast (site says 8 hours but seems to take less) and the indicator lights make it easy to know when they are fully charged. The increased weight - only an additional 0.4 oz (or 10 g) - is not noticeable.

Overall – The extra texture on the replacement battery cover is a nice touch that adds a nice feel and extra grip to the entire WiiMote. It’s easier to set the WiiMote to charge for a while than buy and replace batteries which, in my house, also means using battery tester to see if they are still good. Also, the longer battery life means you’ll save money on batteries in a couple months.

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